The bedding veteran, vice president of sales for bedding at Legends Furniture, talks about why his domestic bedding program is growing, and discusses a business book that has given him a boost.
Transcript
Dave Perry
My producer 30 years ago said, Dave, it sounded like you were announcing the start of World war III. You’re going to have; you’re going to have to calm them. You’re going to have to relax a little bit. It’s like, okay, all right.
Dave Perry
Hey, it’s Dave Perry. Welcome to Take 5 With Dave” today. I am taking five with Marty Melcher. Marty and I have worked together for years. You were at SSB; you were at Serta. You were at SSB for a long time. Now you’re at Legends Furniture. Tell me about Legends Furniture.
Marty Melcher
Legends Furniture is a very nice, well-respected case goods line that just about everybody in the industry knows. What they don’t know is they do a very quiet, behind-the-scenes, very robust amount of bedding business. Hence I’m adding yes. Hence I’m here to participate in this, and they’re a wonderful group of people. They’re actually nice people and fun to do business with.
Dave Perry
You know, isn’t it nice when you get that combination?
Marty Melcher
Oh, my gosh. Yes.
Dave Perry
You don’t always get that. But business is business, as they say.
Marty Melcher
But, you know, Dave, I’ve been fortunate in my career, and I’ve worked with some really great and knowledgeable people and learned a lot from every tour of duty I’ve had. Yeah, but I feel like I’ve come home.
Dave Perry
Yeah, well, tell us about Remedy Sleep. That’s the line that you’re, and you’re working on it now. What is Remedy Sleep?
Marty Melcher
Remedy Sleep is a very simple program. It’s obviously a play on words because we feel we have with our simple bedding line a remedy for the majority of consumers in America. Very simple program. A good, better – best, very well priced. But we’re not chasing units; we were not chasing to the bottom. We’ll give a solid, quality product, and we have some marquee accounts.
Marty Melcher
We have a proven method of building products. And what’s unique about our product, and people will kind of raise an eyebrow, is they have a great showroom feel and look, but they have a great stay-at-home sleep appeal.
Dave Perry
I like that.
Marty Melcher
That beds don’t come back.
Dave Perry
Yeah, production is where?
Marty Melcher
Out of Phoenix. Everything’s domestic, and our supply chain is domestic. We have a couple of things we bring, and we own and control overseas, but the main thrust of the business is all out of Phoenix.
Dave Perry
Okay, well, I’d like to end on a fun note, and I’m a big book reader, and I understand you are too. What’s the last good book you read?
Marty Melcher
Oh, man, glad you asked. “Barking Up the Wrong Tree” by Eric Barker. And it really
Dave Perry
Barker wrote about barking?
Marty Melcher
Yes, sir. And it’s a fun read, but it’s really a very serious one because it challenges a lot of paradigms we have today with how we organize our lives. And he’s all about work-life balance, but he thinks American society has a misunderstanding of what real work-life balance is. And he challenges the way he uses a case studies even bring up how the Mafia is well-organized, and they are structured, and he uses what we.
Dave Perry
And they’re bad, aren’t they?
Marty Melcher
They’re bad. But he.
Dave Perry
Goes they’re well, or they’re.
Marty Melcher
Loyal within their organization, and they have a hierarchy, and then it’s just funny. And then he talks about the pirates. They were an organized bunch. And so it’s a very interesting read. But it changed. I thought it was a very well-organized person, and it made me change how I do things. We’re going to die by to-do list.
Marty Melcher
I’ll leave you with that. To do lists are evil. Schedules are more important.
Dave Perry
Well, thanks for helping me not bark up the wrong tree. Great seeing you. Good to see you. And this looks like a good place for you to be, so congratulations. Thank you. Great scene. Thank you.
